3 questions you should ask yourself before you retire

There are probably hundreds of questions someone should ask themselves if they’re planning on retiring in the near future. Some of those questions may pertain to you and some may not. Here are three basic questions everyone should know the answer to before they start the retirement process.

Can you afford to retire?: This is easily the most important question when considering retirement. You may be ready to call it quits, but you need to make sure your income in retirement will be greater than your expenses. Is your house paid for? Do you plan on relocating? Do you have car payments? Can you max out your social security benefits if you wait a little bit longer? These are all things you should be thinking about before you declare yourself ready to retire.

What are you going to do?: You can’t just sit around all day. You’ve spent your adult life working 40 hours a week and now you have nothing to do. Are you going to travel? Pick up a hobby? Woodworking? Golf? What’s it going to be? Figure out how you want to spend your time in retirement so you’ll know how you’re going to be spending your money. If you’ve got grandkids nearby you may be starting a new life as a babysitter. Whether you do a lot in retirement or choose to do as little as possible, that’s okay, but it’s good to have a plan.

Who are you going to be doing it with?: You make a lot of friends at work. When work is your life, your coworkers are sometimes the only people you have time for. What are you going to do after you retire? Will those work relationships last? Do you spend a lot of time with family? Is your spouse still working? Plug yourself into activities or organizations that will keep you engaged with others. Finding ways to stay social will help keep you active and feeling young.

John Pettit is the Managing Editor for CUInsight.com. John manages the content on the site, including current news, editorial, press releases, jobs and events. He keeps the credit union ... Web: www.cuinsight.comDetails